§ 4013 — Powers of DSHA

In addition to its other powers, DSHA is hereby granted, has and may exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out and effectuate its corporate purposes, including, without limitation, the following:

(1) To sue and be sued in its own name;

(2) To have perpetual succession;

(3) To maintain an office at such place or places within this State as it may designate;

(4) To adopt and from time to time, amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this chapter, to carry into effect the powers and purposes of DSHA and the conduct of its business;

(5) To acquire real or personal property, or any interest therein, on either a temporary or long-term basis in the name of DSHA by gift, purchase, transfer, in the manner prescribed by Chapter 61 of Title 10, foreclosure, lease or otherwise, including rights or easements; to hold, sell, assign, lease, encumber, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property, or any interest therein, or mortgage lien interest owned by it or under its control, custody or in its possession and release or relinquish any right, title, claim, lien, interest, easement or demand, however acquired, including any equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it; and to do any of the foregoing by public or private sale, with or without public bidding, notwithstanding any other law;

(6) To make mortgage loans on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Housing Director, and in accordance with this chapter, for the construction, financing, refinancing or rehabilitation of housing for low- and moderate-income persons and families;

(7) To insure mortgage loans to finance the building or rehabilitation of housing designed and planned to be available by sale or lease to low- or moderate-income persons and families;

(8) To build or rehabilitate housing designed and planned to be sold or rented at prices which low- and moderate-income persons and families can afford, and to rent or otherwise dispose of such housing to persons and families of low- and moderate-income or to housing sponsors for the purpose of renting or selling such property to such persons and families;

(9) To charge rents for the use of residential housing facilities in the amounts sufficient to comply with any agreements of DSHA, whether in connection with the issuance of bonds or otherwise including, but not limited to, reimbursement of all costs of financing by DSHA and such service charges as DSHA shall determine to be reasonable, and, in connection with its authorized programs, to make and collect such charges including, but not limited to, reimbursement of all costs of financing by DSHA and such service charges and insurance premiums as DSHA shall determine to be reasonable;

(10) To lease or rent any dwellings, houses, accommodations, lands, buildings, structures or facilities from private or public parties to effectuate the purposes of this chapter;

(11) To enter into agreements with the State or any agency thereof, municipalities of the State, the United States, public corporations or bodies and private corporations or individuals and to make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions including contracts or agreements with qualified mortgage lenders for the servicing and processing of mortgage loans pursuant to this chapter and to accept grants and the cooperation of the United States or any agency thereof or of the State or any agency thereof, or any public corporation or municipality in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter;

(12) To provide, contract or arrange for consolidated processing of any aspect of a housing development in order to avoid duplication thereof by either undertaking the processing in whole or in part for any department agency, or instrumentality of the United States or of this State, or, in the alternative, to delegate the processing in whole or in part to any such department, agency or instrumentality;

(13) To provide advice, technical information (including assistance in obtaining federal and state aid), training and educational services, as will assist the planning, construction, rehabilitation and operation of housing developments for persons and families of low- and moderate-income, including, but not limited to, assistance in community development and organization, home management and advisory services for the residents of housing developments and to encourage community organizations to assist in developing the same;

(14) To encourage research and demonstration projects in order to develop new and better techniques and methods for increasing the supply of housing for persons and families of low- and moderate-income, and to engage in such research and demonstration projects and to receive and accept contributions, grants or aid, from any source, public or private, including, but not limited to, the United States and this State, for carrying out this purpose;

(15) To employ architects, engineers, attorneys, accountants, housing construction and financial experts and such other advisors, consultants and agents as may be necessary in its judgment and to fix their compensation;

(16) To procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets, including mortgages and mortgage loans, in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desirable;

(17) To invest any funds not needed for immediate use or disbursement including any funds held in reserve in the following:

a. Any bonds or other obligations which as to principal and interest constitute direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by, the United States or the State;

b. Obligations of the Federal National Mortgage Association;

c. Obligations of the Federal Intermediate Credit Corporation;

d. Obligations of Federal Land Banks;

e. Obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks;

f. Certificates of deposit of banks or trust companies, including the Trustee, organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof which have a combined capital and surplus of at least $15,000,000;

g. Bankers Acceptances;

h. Commercial paper, which has been classified for rating purposes by Dunn & Bradstreet, Inc., as Prime-1, or by Standard & Poor’s Corporation as A-1;

i. Bonds, debentures, notes or other obligations issued by any of the following: Bank for Cooperatives, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Government National Mortgage Association, Federal Financing Bank, Small Business Administration or any other agency or instrumentality of the United States of America, created by an Act of Congress (substantially similar to the foregoing in its legal relationship to the United States of America);

j. Contracts for the purchase and sale of obligations described in paragraphs (17)a. through e. and in paragraph (17)i. of this section;

k. Interest-bearing notes issued by a bank, trust company, national banking association or other depository institution or by a bank holding company, an insurance company or other financial institution;

l. Shares of any investment company that:

1. Is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended [15 U.S.C. § 80a-1 et seq.];

2. Invests substantially all of its assets in short-term high-quality money-market instruments;

3. Maintains a constant net asset value per share; and

4. Maintains a rating at least as high as DSHA’s bonds;

m. Other investment arrangements made pursuant to an investment agreement authorized by a resolution of DSHA; and

n. Corporate debt obligations, rated at least as high as DSHA’s bonds, which have a fixed par value and/or whose terms promise a fixed dollar amount at maturity or call date;

(18) To borrow money and issue bonds and notes or other evidence of indebtedness as hereinafter shown without regard to the treatment of interest thereon for federal income tax purposes; provided however, that DSHA shall not issue bonds and notes to exceed $350,000,000 without General Assembly approval with respect to bonds and notes subject to the Capital Reserve Fund established under § 4020 of this title;

(19) To the extent permitted under its contract with the holders of bonds, bond anticipation notes and other obligations of DSHA, to consent to any modification with respect to rate of interest, time and payment of any installment of principal or interest security or any other term of any contract, mortgage, mortgage loan, mortgage loan commitment, contract or agreement of any kind to which DSHA is a party;

(20) To the extent permitted under its contract with the holders of bonds, bond anticipation notes and other obligations, to enter into contracts with any mortgagor containing provisions enabling such mortgagor to reduce the rental or carrying charges to persons unable to pay the regular schedule of charges where, by reason of other income or payment from any department, agency or instrumentality of the United States or this State, such reductions can be made without jeopardizing the economic stability of housing being financed;

(21) To procure or agree to the procurement of insurance or guarantees from the federal government of the payment of any bonds or notes or any other evidence of indebtedness thereof issued by DSHA including the power to pay premiums on any such insurance;

(22) To acquire, lease, purchase, manage, operate, hold and dispose of real and personal property in the State, take assignments of leases and rentals, sell and convey such property on any terms, proceed with foreclosure actions, and enter into contracts, leases and other arrangements necessary or incidental to the performance of its corporate duties;

(23) To exercise any or all of the powers conferred upon it, either generally or with respect to any specific housing project or projects, through or by an agent or agents which it may designate including any corporation or corporations which are or shall be formed under the laws of this State, and for such purposes, DSHA may cause 1 or more corporations to be incorporated under the laws of this State or may acquire the capital stock of any corporation or corporations. Any corporate agent, all of the stock of which shall be owned by DSHA or its nominee or nominees, may to the extent permitted by the law, exercise any of the powers conferred by this chapter upon DSHA, or as shall be conferred upon it by DSHA, as agent;

(24) Fund the operation of any agents it may designate or any authority by advancing moneys appropriated pursuant to § 4030 of this title;

(25) To do any act necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers herein granted or reasonably implied including all powers presently or hereafter granted to local housing authorities under Chapter 43 of this title;

(26) To agree to make such payments to the State or any political subdivisions thereof (which payments such bodies may accept) as DSHA finds consistent with the maintenance of the low- and moderate-income rent character of housing projects or the achievement of the purposes of this chapter;

(27) To establish and implement policies, and to take all actions deemed appropriate to mitigate adverse social conditions and to eliminate drug and crime problems at DSHA’s sites; and

(28) To provide housing assistance as a benefit, not an entitlement, and to require the beneficiaries to recognize their responsibilities to DSHA and to their neighbors as conditions of continued assistance.

Legislative History

71 Del. Laws, c. 357, § 6